''Thalaivasal'' () is a 1992 Tamil-language

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by

Selva Selva () is a coastal comarque (county) in Catalonia, Spain, located between the mountain range known as the Serralada Transversal or Puigsacalm and the Costa Brava (part of the Mediterranean coast). Unusually, it is divided between the provinc ...

. The film has an ensemble cast consisting of

S. P. Balasubrahmanyam Sripathi Panditaradhyula Balasubrahmanyam (4 June 1946 – 25 September 2020), also referred to as SPB or SP Balu or Balu, was an Indian playback singer, television presenter, actor, music composer, dubbing artist, and film producer. He is wi ...

, Anand,

Sivaranjani Shivaranjani or Sivaranjani is a musical scale used in Indian classical music. There are two scales, one in Hindustani music and one in Carnatic music. The Hindustani rāga is a pentatonic scale, as is the Carnatic scale categorized as Audav ...

, Bhanu Prakash,

Nassar Nassar ( ar, نصار, lit=helper, protector, supporter, victory-maker), is a given name and surname, commonly found in the Arabic language. Alternative spellings of this name, possibly due to transliteration include Naser, Nasser, Nasir, Naseer ...

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

and newcomer Vijay. The film, produced by Chozha Ponnurangam, had musical score by Bala Bharathi and was released on 3 September 1992.

Plot

Nachiappan College is considered to be one of the worst colleges of

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

; everyday violence erupts between two final-year groups. The students are influenced by the local bigwig Beeda Settu (

), who sells

ganja Ganja (, ; ) is one of the oldest and most commonly used synonyms for marijuana. Its usage in English dates to before 1689. Etymology ''Ganja'' is borrowed from Hindi/Urdu ( hi, गांजा, links=no, ur, , links=no, IPA: �aːɲd� ...

to the students and basically rules the college from outside. The first group is led by Sudhakar ( Anand) whereas the other one is led by Kalaiarasan (Bhanu Prakash). The college management and the police get tired of that situation. They decide that they need to change the principal. The vice-principal, Chandran, dies to sit in that post but the college management asks the successful Shanmugasundaram (

) to take the post. His daughter Shobana will study in the same college. The rest of the story is how Shanmugasundaram succeeds in his mission.

Cast

as Shanmugasundaram * Anand as Sudhakar *

as Shobana *Bhanu Prakash as Kalaiarasan *

as Beeda Settu *

as Chandran * Vijay as Babu *S.N. Vasanth as Gupta *Chitti as ACP Devaraj *

Sabitha Anand Sabitha Anand is an Indian actress who has performed in Tamil and Malayalam movies and serials. She was one of the lead actresses in the 1980s. She is the daughter of Jacoob Abdu Rahman Anand, an Indian actor in Malayalam movies during the 1960 ...

as Saradha *Vaishnavi as Anandhi *

Vichithra Vichithra is an Indian actress who has predominantly appeared in Tamil films. She has also appeared in a few Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films. Career Her breakthrough came in the form of a glamorous role in Selva's ''Thalaivasal'' (1992), ...

as 'Madippu' Hamsa *C.N.A. Parimal *Sampath Kumar *Vincent Roy as Vedachalam *Jayaprakash *Radhabhai * Swaminathan *

Master Anand H. Anand (born 4 January 1984), popularly known as Master Anand, is an Indian actor, film director and television presenter. He is best known for his work in Kannada cinema. Anand made his acting debut as a child artist. His performance as Gane ...

as Siddharth *Baby Shobana as Meena * MRK

Soundtrack

The film score and the soundtrack were composed by Bala Bharathi. The soundtrack, released in 1992, features 7 tracks with lyrics written by

Vairamuthu Vairamuthu Ramasamy (born 13 July 1953) is an Indian lyricist, poet, and novelist working in the Tamil film industry. He is a prominent figure in the Tamil literary world. A master's graduate from the Pachaiyappa's College in Chennai, he first ...

Production

The success of the serial 'Neela Maala' facilitated Chozha Creations’ re-entry into film world and they gave the serial director

the opportunity to direct ''Thalaivasal''. Except for playback singer

and

, most of the cast was new like Bhanu Prakash and

Thalaivasal Vijay Thalaivasal Vijay is an Indian actor and dubbing artist. He was born on 4 August 1962 in Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu, India. He has acted predominantly in numerous Tamil and Malayalam films. Career Vijay's debut film was '' Thalaivaasal'' (1992) ...

. It is a story revolving around college life which forms the foundation stone for the future of any individual.

Reception

The film completed a 100-day run at the box-office. ''The Indian Express'' wrote "Debutant writer-director Chelva has taken up a subject with which he does not seem to be familiar".

Legacy

After the film's success, Vijay added ''Thalaivasal'' as his stage name.

References

{{reflist 1992 films Indian drama films 1990s Tamil-language films Films set in universities and colleges Films directed by Selva (director) 1992 drama films 1992 directorial debut films